Do you sometimes get the impression that time is flying away, riding a winged clock out of your reach, or is it just me? Flying or not, time is the single most precious thing we have, and being able to discuss it will prove useful within your first few days in France.
Whether you want to talk about your day, plan something, talk about schedules, or just answer someone on the street asking you for the time, learning about telling time in French is essential. You’ll have to know the basic vocabulary for “hour” or “minutes” in French, some numbers, and a variety of valuable time-related phrases and keywords.
In this article, you’ll learn everything about telling the time in French, from the units to the AM / PM system, common questions & answers, and much more!
Table of Contents- What Time is it?
- Time Units
- AM or PM?
- How to Give the Time
- Hour Divisions
- From Dusk till Dawn
- Expressions and Proverbs about Time in French
- How FrenchPod101 Can Help You Learn More French
1. What Time is it?
Le temps presse ! (“Time is of the essence!”)
Before you learn how to tell the time in French, you’ll need to understand when someone is asking you for it. And in the process, you’ll learn how to ask for the time yourself. As you can expect, there isn’t only one way of asking about time in French, but the most popular, by far, is:
- Quelle heure est-il ? [Formal]
“What time is it?”
If you have some experience with polite sentences, you may have noticed the inverted subject (est-il instead of il est). Indeed, this is the formal sentence that most French lessons teach you, but there are several other ways you can ask (or be asked) for the time:
- Quelle heure il est ? [Casual]
- Il est quelle heure ? [Casual]
Both of these phrases mean “What time is it?”
Let’s have a look at other popular alternatives:
- Est-ce que vous avez l’heure ? [Formal]
- Est-ce que tu as l’heure ? [Casual]
- T’as l’heure ? [Very casual]
These translate to “Do you have the time?”
And of course, if you’re asking some stranger in the street or anyone you’re not yet familiar with, don’t forget to add some honey by starting with a polite Excusez-moi (“Excuse me”), and maybe a nice s’il vous plaît (“please”) at the end!
- Excusez-moi, est-ce que vous avez l’heure, s’il vous plaît ? [Very formal]
“Excuse me, do you have the time, please?”
2. Time Units
Before we get to the juicy part, let’s talk vocabulary for a moment. Obviously, to give the time in French, you’ll have to be in the clear about numbers. At the minimum, you need to be able to count up to fifty-nine, but don’t worry if you can’t do that yet—we also have some magic words to save you the trouble!
However, I would say that counting up to 12 is an absolute minimum, so just in case, let’s review this quickly:
1. un | 2. deux | 3. trois | 4. quatre | 5. cinq | 6. six |
7. sept | 8. huit | 9. neuf | 10. dix | 11. onze | 12. douze |
- → Learn how to count from 0 to infinity with our complete guide on French Numbers. It’s available for free on FrenchPod101!
Now, here are our time units:
- une heure (“hour”)
- une minute (“minute”)
- une seconde (“second”)
So, what happens when you combine these words with numbers?
- Trois heures (“three hours”)
- Dix minutes (“ten minutes”)
- Trente secondes (“thirty seconds”)
And here’s a glimpse of how to tell time in French with minutes, though we’ll go more into this later.
- Cinq heures vingt (“five hours twenty minutes”)
In most cases, when the number of minutes closely follows the hour, like above, you can omit the word minutes (“minutes”).
- → You’ll find these words, as well as the numbers, in our free vocabulary list on Talking about Time with audio recordings to practice your pronunciation!
Un cadran solaire (“A sundial”)
3. AM or PM?
Frequently asked question: Should I use the twelve- or twenty-four-hour system in French?
Answer: As you wish! (But there is a twist.)
The twelve-hour system used to be popular in northern Europe, but nowadays, it’s slowly losing the battle against the objectively superior twenty-four-hour system. Let’s see how it looks.
- Il est 5 heures du matin. (“It is 5 AM” or literally “It is five hours in the morning.”)
- Il est 5 heures de l’après-midi. (“It is 5 PM” or “It is five hours in the afternoon.”)
- Il est 8 heures du soir. (“It is 8 PM” or “It is eight hours in the evening.”)
Dealing with twelve hours makes it easily confusing when you’re talking to someone from the same time zone, but it gets ridiculous with globalization and our tendency to communicate and schedule events with people from all around the world.
Now, if you also consider that AM (which stands for “Ante Meridiem,” as opposed to “Post Meridiem”) could possibly be the abbreviation for après-midi (French for “afternoon”), you’ll understand why it’s losing in popularity.
Let’s see what the twenty-four-hour system looks like:
- Il est 5 heures. (“It’s 5 AM.”)
- Il est 17 heures. (“It’s 5 PM.”)
- Il est 20 heures. (“It’s 20 PM.”)
Now that being said, there are still MANY people using the twelve-hour system. It’s not even old-fashioned yet and you should be ready to understand it, even if you choose not to use it yourself.
And as tempting as it was to add a lecture on the Latin origin of meridiem, I’m all about self-control and will keep my sophisticated pedantism in check. Hey, did you know “pedant” comes from the Italian “pedante,” derived from the Latin “paedogogus?” Oh no, I did it again!
Most hated object in the house: The alarm clock!
4. How to Give the Time
Alright, I’ve kept you waiting long enough. Here’s how to tell the time in French:
- Il est _____. (“It is _____”).
Did it feel anticlimactic? I feel like it’s not quite the big reveal.
Okay, but that’s not all of it! Here’s how you can make it more interesting:
- Il est 8 heures. (“It is 8.”)
- Il est bientôt 8 heures. (“It is 8 soon.”)
- Il sera bientôt 8 heures. (“It will be 8 soon.”)
- Il est presque 8 heures. (“It is almost 8.”)
- Il est 8 heures passées. (“It is past 8.”)
- Il est encore 8 heures. (“It is still 8.”)
- Il n’est pas encore 8 heures. (“It is not 8 yet.”)
- Vers 8 heures. (“Around 8.”)
- Aux environs de 8h. (“Around 8.”)
- Il est 8 heures pile. (“It is 8 sharp.”)
Il est 8 heures pétantes. (“It is 8 sharp.”)
Hold on, these two are interesting! Pile or tout pile is rather straightforward. When it’s not used for the time, you can find it as an equivalent of “sharp,” “exactly,” or “right,” as in: A midi pile. (“At noon sharp.”) On a pile 10 mètres carrés. (“We have exactly ten meters square.”) Il a visé pile au centre. (“He aimed right at the center.”) Il est 8 heures pétantes literally means “It is eight blasting hours,” or “It is eight farting hours.” In 1786 in Paris, there used to be a small canon next to the Palais-Royal. It was only forty centimeters long and was equipped with a magnifying glass to concentrate the sun’s rays. Every sunny day at noon sharp, it would set the gunpowder on fire and BOOM! |
And if you’re dealing with the twelve-hour system, don’t forget about the trinity of matin, après-midi, and soir:
- Il est 4 heures du matin. (“It is four in the morning.”)
- Il est 4 heures de l’après-midi. (“It is four in the afternoon.”)
- Il est 9 heures du soir. (“It is nine in the evening.”)
Il est 8 heures pile. (“It is 8 sharp.”)
5. Hour Divisions
I promised you a magic workaround if you don’t know all the numbers from 13 to 59. Here we are!
- Il est 8 heures et demi. (“It is half past 8.”) Literally: “It is 8 hours and half.”
- Il est 2 heures et quart. (“It is quarter past 2.”) Literally: “It is 2 hours and quarter.”
- Il est 3 heures moins le quart. (“It is quarter to 3.”) Literally: “It is 3 hours minus quarter.”
- Il est 9 heures moins 10. (“It is 10 to 9.”) Literally: “It is 9 hours minus 10.”
/! This only works in the twelve-hour system:
- Il est 8 heures et demi.
Il est 20 heures et demi.- Il est 20 heures 30.
6. From Dusk till Dawn
Now that we know how to ask for the time and tell the time in French, let’s get more vocabulary on the various moments of the day. Describing time in French becomes much simpler when you know how to say the general time.
Unless you’re living in Saint-Petersburg and partying throughout the endless white nights, or hiding from vampires during the thirty days of night in Utqiaġvik, Alaska, your typical day should start with a sunrise and end with a sunset.
Morning
|
Afternoon
|
Evening & Night
|
Un coucher de soleil (“A sunset”)
7. Expressions and Proverbs about Time in French
Did you notice that the French don’t ask “What time is it?” but “What hour is it?”
Many time-related French expressions are surprisingly similar to their English equivalent, but it’s interesting to see the differences:
- La nuit des temps [Literally: “The night of times”]
(“The dawn of times”)
- Ces derniers temps [“Those latest times”]
(“Lately”)
- En temps normal [“In normal time”]
(“Under normal circumstances”)
- En temps utile [“In useful time”]
- En temps voulu [“In desired time”]
(“In due time”)
- Chercher midi à quatorze heures. [“To look for noon at 2 PM”]
(“To look for unnecessary complications”)
And of course, we do have the infamous proverb: Le temps, c’est de l’argent. (“Time is money.”)
Even though we’re as deep into capitalism as any of our European neighbors, the average French doesn’t live by this proverb and people tend to think of time as a commodity and not just something they convert into cash.
And even without pondering about the things money can’t buy, there’s an Epicurean component to the French Art de vivre (“Art of Living”) that keeps people from being swallowed by their working life and helps them prioritize what they work for.
Passed time never comes back.
8. How FrenchPod101 Can Help You Learn More French
In this guide, you’ve learned everything about telling the time in French, from the common questions and answers to time units, vocabulary, and expressions. Did I forget any important time-related word or expression that you know? Do you feel ready to ask random French strangers for the time, or to answer when you’re asked for it?
Understanding time in French may take time. A good exercise to practice telling the time is simply to try and think in French when you look at your watch. Try to form the sentence in your head using what you’ve learned today, and you’ll soon become more comfortable. Just take it easy and go at your own pace. =)
FrenchPod101 also has tons of vocabulary lists with audio recordings and free resources to boost your studies and keep your French learning fresh and entertaining!
Remember that you can also use our premium service, MyTeacher, to get personal one-on-one coaching and practice with your private teacher. Using assignments, personalized exercises, and recorded audio samples —and by reviewing yours—they can help you improve your pronunciation much faster.
Happy learning on FrenchPod101!
About the Author: Born and bred in the rainy north of France, Cyril Danon has been bouncing off various jobs before he left everything behind to wander around the wonders of the World. Now, after quenching his wanderlust for the last few years, he’s eager to share his passion for languages.
Be the GPS with French Directions: Left in French & More
Have you ever been lost in a big capital city, without batteries in your phone or credit on your SIM card? And when was the last time you’ve bought one of these unfoldable paper maps? Luckily, there’s one thing you can always rely on when you’re completely lost in France: helpful locals!
But it comes at a price. Outside of Paris, it can be difficult to find English-speaking help and you’ll have to be ready to break the language barrier. Asking directions in French is easy. Understanding the answer is a different story (but “left” and “right” in French aren’t hard). Don’t worry, we’ll get you there. =)
First, you’ll need to know the basic vocabulary, such as right, left, North, or South in French. But you’ll also need to know the usual movement verbs and the most common structures. In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know to find your way around France, from the landmarks to the transportation, taxi phrases, and polite greetings. Time to hit the road!
Table of Contents
- On the Map: Compass Directions in French
- Simple Directions in French Using Landmarks
- On the Road: Driving Directions in French
- Must-Know Phrases: Asking for Directions
- Must-Know Phrases: Giving Directions in French
- The French vs. Directions
- How FrenchPod101 Can Help You Learn More French
1. On the Map: Compass Directions in French
Whether you prefer the modern conveniences of a GPS or ever-reliable paper maps, and whenever you’re navigating through unknown regions or talking about the French territory with your local friends, you’ll need to know the basic cardinal directions and how to use them in sentences.
So, before we dive into anything more complex, let’s start with that!
Le nord “North” | Nous irons vers le nord. “We will head north.” |
Le sud “South” | Elle habite au sud de Paris. “She’s living south of Paris.” |
L’est “East” | Annecy est à deux heures à l’est de Lyon. “Annecy is two hours east of Lyon.” |
L’ouest “West” | L’europe de l’ouest “Western Europe” |
Le nord-est “Northeast” | Ils vivent au nord-est de la Russie. “They are living northeast of Russia.” |
Le nord-ouest “Northwest” | Le nord-ouest des Alpes est une belle région. “The northwest of the Alps is a beautiful region.” |
Le sud-est “Southeast” | Il fait toujours beau dans le sud-est. “It’s always sunny in the southeast.” |
Le sud-ouest “Southwest” | Je ne suis jamais descendu dans le sud-ouest. “I’ve never been down southwest.” |
Now that you know how to navigate map directions in French, here are a few more useful words to talk about the French territory:
Région “Region” | La région Hauts-de-France “The Hauts-de-France region” |
France is divided into thirteen regions whose names changed recently, in 2016. |
Département “Department” | Le Pas-de-Calais est un département Français. “Pas-de-Calais is a French department.” |
Each region is subdivided into smaller departments. There are currently 101 departments on the French territory, including overseas departments. |
La côte “The coast” | On va sur la côte pour l’été. “We’re heading to the coast for the summer.” |
La frontière “The border” | Elle habite près de la frontière Belge. “She’s living near the Belgium border.” |
- → Make sure to visit our vocabulary list about Direction Words, with audio recordings to practice your pronunciation. It’s freely available on FrenchPod101.
Une carte aux trésors (“A treasure map”)
2. Simple Directions in French Using Landmarks
Time to fold your map and get down to business! You’ve arrived at your destination, but there’s still a lot of unknown ground to cover. You’ll need some serious vocabulary to navigate through this new city and ask locals for directions.
In this chapter, we’ll cover all the essential city landmarks, from transport hubs to city buildings, streets, and key indoor locations.
1- Transports
Un aéroport “Airport” | Je voudrais aller à l’aéroport d’Orly. “I would like to go to the Orly airport.” |
Une gare “Train station” | Mon train part de la gare Montparnasse. “My train is leaving from the Montparnasse station.” |
Une gare routière Une gare de bus “Bus station” | Pouvez-vous m’indiquer la gare routière ? “Could you tell me where the bus station is?” |
Une station de métro “Metro station” | Je cherche la station de métro la plus proche. “I’m looking for the closest metro station.” |
Un parking “Parking” | J’ai laissé ma voiture au parking. “I left my car at the parking.” |
2- In the City
Un hotel “Hotel” | Une nuit d’hotel “A hotel night” |
Un parc “Park” | Je me promène au parc de Fontainebleau. “I’m strolling at the Fontainebleau park.” |
Une banque “Bank” | Je dois aller à la banque pour un retrait. “I need to go to the bank for a withdrawal.” |
Un magasin “Shop” | Un petit magasin d’antiquités “A small antique shop” |
Une poste “Post office” | Je vais déposer mon colis à la poste. “I will drop my parcel at the post office.” |
Un marché “Market” | Je fais mes courses au marché le samedi. “I shop at the market on Saturdays.” |
Un aéroport (“Airport”)
3- In the Street
Un rue “Street” | J’habite rue Saint Martin. “I live on the Saint Martin street.” |
Une avenue “Avenue” | L’avenue Baltique est près du rond-point Albert II. “The Baltique Avenue is near the Albert II roundabout.” |
Un croisement; une intersection “Intersection” | On te prendra à cette intersection. “We’ll pick you up at the intersection.” |
Un feu “Traffic light” | Je m’arrête au feu rouge et j’attends le feu vert. “I stop at the red light and wait for the green light.” |
The literal meaning of Un feu is “Fire,” but we don’t actually use boric acid to make green fire at our intersections! You should probably not do it at home either. |
Une station service “Gas station” | On va faire le plein à la prochaine station service. “We will refuel at the next gas station.” |
Un passage piéton “Crosswalk” | Il y a un passage piéton sur votre gauche. “There is a crosswalk on your left.” |
4- Key Indoor Locations
Les toilettes “Toilets” | Excusez-moi, je cherche les toilettes. “Excuse me, I’m looking for the toilets.” |
Un ascenseur “Elevator” | Prenez l’ascenseur si votre sac est lourd. “Take the elevator if your bag is heavy.” |
Un escalator “Escalator” | Prenez l’escalator jusqu’au troisième étage. “Take the elevator up to the third floor.” |
Des escaliers “Stairs” | Descendez les escaliers jusqu’au parking sous-terrain. “Take the stairs down to the underground parking.” |
L’entrée “Entrance” | L’entrée principale “The main entrance” |
La sortie “Exit” | La sortie de secours “The emergency exit” |
Les caisses “Cashier” | Où sont les caisses, s’il vous plait ? “Where is the cashier, please?” |
- → Learn more about city locations with our free vocabulary list on the most useful words to navigate Around Town.
La sortie de secours (“The emergency exit”)
3. On the Road: Driving Directions in French
When you’re asking for directions or explaining to somebody how to reach their destination, you’ll need to know how to say “left” and “right” in French, but that’s not it! There are many direction words you can use to precisely pinpoint a location or accurately describe a route.
Here are the most frequently used words for telling directions in French:
Devant “In front of” | On se retrouve devant la gare. “Let’s meet in front of the train station.” |
Derrière “Behind” | Mon taxi attend derrière la gare. “My cab is waiting behind the train station.” |
La gauche “Left” | La première à gauche “First on the left” |
La droite “Right” | La troisième à droite “Third on the right” |
Loin “Far” | Est-ce que c’est loin d’ici ? “Is it far from here?” |
Près “Near” | Je travaille près de la poste. “I work near the post office.” |
A côté de “Next to” | A côté de l’arrêt de bus “Next to the bus stop” |
De l’autre côté de “On the other side of” | De l’autre côté de la rue “On the other side of the street” |
En face de “In front of” | En face de la cathédrale “In front of the cathedral” |
A l’opposé de “Opposite” | A l’opposé de “Opposite” |
Un GPS de voiture (“Car GPS”)
4. Must-Know Phrases: Asking for Directions
Now that you’re equipped with a solid vocabulary on directions and many example phrases, let’s take a moment to address what I call the “social lubricant”: a bit of gentle grease to polish your interactions with locals and make them pleasantly smooth.
In other words, let’s make your mom proud and learn how to be polite in French!
1- Making First Contact
Here’s your bread-and-butter:
- Bonjour
“Hello” / “Good morning” / “Good day” - Bonsoir
“Good evening” - Excusez-moi
“Excuse me”
From these few words, you can make different combinations, the most polite (that I usually keep for an elderly audience) being:
- Bonjour monsieur, excusez-moi…
“Hello sir, excuse me…” - Bonjour madame, excusez-moi…
“Hello madam, excuse me…”
2- Ask for Help
Here are a few variations on “where is”:
- Est-ce que vous savez où est la Cathédrale Saint-Machin ?
“Do you know where the Saint-Machin Cathedral is?” - Je cherche la place Dauphine.
“I’m looking for the Place Dauphine.” - Pouvez-vous m’indiquer la rue Sainte-Bidule ?
“Can you tell me where the Saint-Bidule street is?”
And a couple questions on distances:
- Est-ce qu’on est loin de la gare Montparnasse ?
“Are we far from the Montparnasse station?” - Est-ce que vous pouvez m’indiquer le métro le plus proche ?
“Can you tell me where the closest metro station is?”
3- Wrap Things Up
- Merci.
“Thank you.” - Merci beaucoup !
“Thank you very much!” - Merci pour votre aide.
“Thank you for your help.”
Sometimes, it takes a wrong turn to get to the right place.
5. Must-Know Phrases: Giving Directions in French
There are a few situations where you’ll need to give directions:
- When explaining to friends where you live
- If you blend in so well that locals start asking you for directions (it will happen before you know it!)
- While in a taxi, navigating your driver toward your destination
Here’s one last list of useful words, as well as the most common phrases in everyday situations.
1- Horizontal Directions
Tout droit “Straight” | Marchez tout droit pendant 100 mètres. “Walk straight for 100 meters.” |
Faire demi-tour “To double back” | Roulez jusqu’au prochain rond-point et faites demi-tour. “Drive until the next roundabout and double back.” |
Tourner “To turn” | Après l’église, tournez à gauche. “After the church, turn left.” |
2- Vertical Directions
Un étage “Floor” | J’habite au 7ème étage, sans ascenseur. “I live on the seventh floor, without a lift.” |
Un sous-sol “Underground” | Un sous-sol “Underground” |
En haut “Up” | En haut “Up” |
En bas “Down”; “Downstairs” | Il y a une épicerie en bas de chez moi. “There is a grocery store downstairs from my place.” |
3- Taxi Directions in French
Continuer “To continue”; “To keep going” | Continuez un peu, jusqu’au bout de la rue. “Keep going a bit, until the end of the street.” |
Plus loin “Further” | Non, c’est plus loin sur cette avenue. “No, it is further on this avenue.” |
S’arrêter “To stop” | Vous pouvez vous arrêter ici. “You can stop here.” |
Ralentir “To slow down” | Vous pouvez ralentir un peu, s’il vous plaît ? “Could you please slow down a bit?” |
- → To learn more words and their pronunciation, check out our free vocabulary list on Position & Direction.
“Could you start going down? I live a few blocks from here!”
6. The French vs. Directions
Asking a random person for directions is like playing roulette. Sometimes, you’ll bump into another tourist who might very well know the surroundings. Or you’ll face a high-tech teenager, shocked at your inability to rely on a map app, or someone—like myself—who doesn’t know more than two or three street names in the city where they spent ten years.
1- The Lost Art of Knowing Street Names
Best case scenario? You’ll meet one of these old-timers who grew up without modern smartphones and don’t see the point in carrying a GPS outside of their car, if any. They’ve memorized the name of every single street, from center to suburb, and will be only too happy to share their nearly extinct knowledge with you.
Knowing the street names and the most optimized way to get from point A to point B without any GPS-driven help is definitely a matter of generation, and elderly French will be your best friends! Just don’t forget to address them respectfully, using your most humble Bonjour monsieur and Merci beaucoup.
2- I Don’t Know!
What do people do when asked for directions to a place they don’t know? In some countries, they would simply admit they don’t know, but if you’re in one of the South-East Asian countries where saving face matters more than telling the truth, it’s more complicated. I once found myself helplessly wandering through the streets, looking for an embassy because every single local would describe me all kinds of random directions, only not to admit they didn’t have a clue.
In France, when people don’t know what you’re looking for, or aren’t sure how to describe the directions, they’ll simply tell you Je ne sais pas (“I don’t know”) or Aucune idée ! (“No idea!”) and it’s a blessing.
3- French Perception of Distances
Although cars are popular and as overused as in any wealthy country, the French still have the culture of walking, and it shows in their appreciation of distances.
On a trip abroad, I once asked for the nearest bakery and was told “Oh no, it’s way too far to walk there, you should take a taxi!” Having nothing but time, I walked there anyway and found it after five minutes of my long stride. In my personal perception of distances, it was absolutely within walking reach, but locals would take their bikes for shorter errands.
Most French wouldn’t take their cars for less than a kilometer and when they give you walking directions, keep this walking culture in mind. They won’t blink if you tell them you want to walk from the Eiffel Tower to Montmartre. Sure, go ahead, it’s just a one-hour walk!
Typical French vacations. Better take your hiking poles!
7. How FrenchPod101 Can Help You Learn More French
In this guide, you’ve learned everything about asking and giving directions in French, from the most common structures to situation-specific vocabulary, polite greetings, and map navigation. Did I forget any important word or phrase that you know? Do you feel ready to get lost in Paris and valiantly ask your way around the capital?
FrenchPod101 also has tons of vocabulary lists with audio recordings and free resources to boost your studies and keep your French learning fresh and entertaining!
Remember that you can also use our premium service, MyTeacher, to get personal one-on-one coaching and have your private teacher help you practice with directions and more. They’ll provide you with assignments and personalized exercises, and will record audio samples for you as well as review yours, to help improve your pronunciation.
Happy learning on FrenchPod101!
About the Author: Born and bred in the rainy north of France, Cyril Danon has been bouncing off various jobs before he left everything behind to wander around the wonders of the World. Now, after quenching his wanderlust for the last few years, he’s eager to share his passion for languages.
100 Must-Know French Nouns
Figuring out which are the feminine nouns in French is one of the trickiest aspects of the language, and so is the formation of plural nouns, but bear with me for a little while and you’ll learn a collection of useful tricks to help you wrap your head around it!
In this guide, you’ll find a list of the 100 most common and useful French nouns and how to use them. For each of these words, I’ve included the gender, plural form, translation, and example sentences. If you manage to memorize most of the items on this French nouns list, you’ll be pretty far along on your way to talking about a great many things!
Table of Contents
- Gender and Plural
- About Time
- Places
- Technology & Internet
- Home, Sweet Home
- City & Transports
- Family & Friends
- Body Parts
- Food & Utensils
- Occupation
- Clothing Items
- Bonus: Communication
- How FrenchPod101 Can Help You Learn More French
1. Gender and Plural
Le vocabulaire (“Vocabulary”)
1- How do you know if a French word is masculine or feminine?
French nouns are either masculine or feminine.For instance, le soleil (“the sun”) is masculine, while la lune (“the moon”) is feminine.
The question of why une araignée (“a spider”) is female and un cafard (“a cockroach”) is male doesn’t matter as much as: How do I know which gender it is?
Luckily, it’s generally quite straightforward, and based on the final letters of a word, you can guess its gender. The rule isn’t entirely accurate, but as you get used to these typical masculine and feminine endings, you’ll be able to make good guesses.
Usually feminine endings: Most words ending in -e or -ion
| Usually masculine endings: Words ending in -age, -ege, -é, -isme + Everything else.
|
- It would be a tedious and super-boring process.
- This is not how native speakers learn the words’ genders.
If you’re wondering how to remember French nouns’ gender, I instead encourage you to ALWAYS learn new nouns with their article.
- Soleil Un soleil (“A sun”)
- Lune Une lune (“A moon”)
You can also memorize them with a definite article. It’s just a matter of preference.
- Le soleil (“The sun”)
- La lune (“The moon”)
The gender war is declared.
2- How to make French nouns plural
For most nouns, simply add an -s at the end of the word.- Un an -> des ans
- Un jour -> des jours
Nouns ending in -au become -aux.
- Un bateau -> des bateaux
Nouns ending in -ou usually become -ous, but some take a -oux.
- Un fou -> des fous
- Un bijou -> des bijoux
Nouns ending in -al become -aux.
- Un animal -> des animaux
Finally, nouns ending in -s, -x, or -z are invariable.
- Une souris -> des souris
- Un lynx -> des lynx
- Un nez -> des nez
Now that we’ve learned how to determine the gender of French nouns and how to make them plural, let’s move on to our 100 French nouns list!
2. About Time
Un an; des ans “Year” Une année; des années “Year” | Nous vivons ici depuis dix ans. “We have been living here for ten years.” Nous vivons ici depuis plusieurs années. “We have been living here for several years.” |
An is mainly used when there is a number involved:
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Une semaine; des semaines “Week” | A la semaine prochaine ! “See you next week!” |
Un mois; des mois “Month” | Le mois de juillet est souvent ensoleillé. “The month of July is often sunny.” |
Un jour; des jours “Day” | Je viendrai dans trois jours. “I will come in three days.” |
Une heure; des heures “Hour” | Ce film dure trois heures. “This movie is three hours long.” |
Quick Tip: How to tell time? In France, you can use the twelve- or twenty-four-hour system.
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Une minute; des minutes “Minute” | Laisse moi deux minutes et on y va ! “Give me two minutes and let’s go!” |
Un temps; des temps “Time” | Je n’ai pas le temps. “I don’t have the time.” |
- → Make sure to visit our full article about Time as well as our vocabulary list on Talking About Time, with audio recordings to practice your pronunciation. It’s freely available on FrenchPod101!
Une question de temps (“A matter of time”)
3. Places
Un monde; des mondes “World” | La plus belle plage du monde. “The most beautiful beach in the world.” |
Un pays; des pays “Country” | Tu as visité de nombreux pays. “You have visited many countries.” |
Un endroit; des endroits “Place” | J’adore cet endroit ! “I love this place!” |
In Quebec, where French is a bit different, a place is une place.
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Une région; des régions “Region” | C’est le plat typique de ma région. “This is the typical dish of my region.” |
Une mer; des mers “Sea” | La mer du nord est un peu froide. “The northern sea is a bit cold.” |
Une forêt; des forêts “Forest” | Il s’est perdu dans la forêt. “He got lost in the forest.” |
Une montagne; des montagnes “Mountain” | Des vacances à la montagne “Mountain vacations” |
Un magasin; des magasins “Shop” | Tu peux en acheter dans ce magasin. “You can buy some in this shop.” |
Une banque; des banques “Bank” | J’ai besoin de retirer de l’argent à la banque. “I need to withdraw some cash at the bank.” |
Un parc; des parcs “Park” | On se retrouve dans le parc ? “Shall we meet in the park?” |
- → Learn more about how to navigate French cities with our free vocabulary list on places Around Town.
4. Technology & Internet
Un téléphone; des téléphones “Phone” | Je te donne mon numéro de téléphone. “I’ll give you my phone number.” |
Un portable; des portables “Mobile phone” | Tu me donnes ton numéro de portable ? “Can you give me your mobile phone number?” |
Portable VS. Mobile VS. Laptop A common source of confusion, even among natives, is the word portable meaning “mobile phone” and “laptop.” One way to avoid the confusion is to use un mobile or un smartphone instead of un portable when talking about mobile phones. Younger generations also tend to use laptop instead of portable. To be fair, it’s usually easy to guess from the context. |
Un ordinateur; des ordinateurs “Computer” | Mon ordinateur est un PC. “My computer is a PC.” |
Fun fact: PC is also the acronym for the French communist party: Parti Communiste. Is there any risk of ever confusing these two? I wouldn’t bet on it. |
Une tablette; des tablettes “Tablet” | Tu as installé l’app sur ta tablette ? “Did you install the app on your tablet?” |
Une télé; des télés “TV” | Il y a quoi à la télé, ce soir ? “What’s on TV tonight?” |
Télévision, Télé, or TV? While Télévision is the full word, it’s rarely used in conversations; Télé is far more popular. TV is mainly used in writing. |
Un chargeur,;des chargeurs “Charger” | Je peux emprunter ton chargeur ? “Can I borrow your charger?” |
Internet “Internet” | On n’a pas internet, dans ce petit village. “We don’t have internet in this small village.” |
Internet (with a capital “I”), internet, or l’internet? Short answer: Whatever you like! (But use “internet” if you wanna sound cool. L’internet is for your grandpa.) Long answer: According to the Académie Française (official patron of the French language), you can use both. However, there was an attempt in 2016 at the national assembly to officialize l’internet over “internet.” Thank goodness, the bill didn’t pass. |
Un site web; des sites web “A website” | On ira voir sur le site web de la mairie. “We’ll check on the city hall’s website.” |
Site or Site web? Whichever.
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Un compte; des comptes “Account” | Tu as un compte Skype ? “Do you have a Skype account?” |
Un mot de passe; des mots de passe “Password” | Je dois réinitialiser mon mot de passe. “I need to reset my password.” |
How do you say “login?” We often say login, but you can equally say identifiant. |
Un fichier; des fichiers “File” | J’ai copié les fichiers sur ma clef USB. “I copied the files on my USB drive.” |
Un logiciel; des logiciels “Software” | Tu peux installer ce logiciel. “You can install this software.” |
- → Appliances and technology are a vast topic and I’m just scratching the surface here! Don’t miss any words with our free vocabulary lists on Home Appliances, Technology, and the Internet.
La technologie (“Technology”)
5. Home, Sweet Home
Une maison; des maisons “House”; “Home” | On rentre à la maison. “We’re going home.” |
Une porte; des portes “Door” | La première porte à gauche “The first door on the left” |
Une fenêtre; des fenêtres “Window” | Les cambrioleurs ont cassé une fenêtre. “Burglars have broken a window.” |
Un frigo; des frigos “A fridge” | Ne mettez jamais de vin rouge au frigo ! “Don’t ever put red wine in the fridge!” |
Ideally, before and after it has been opened, you should keep it out of light and at room temperature. |
Une armoire; des armoires “Closet” | On a besoin d’une nouvelle armoire. “We need a new closet.” |
Une pièce; des pièces “Room” | Ce serait bien d’avoir une pièce en plus. “It would be nice to have one more room.” |
Une cuisine; des cuisines “Kitchen” | N’oublie pas d’aérer la cuisine. “Don’t forget to ventilate the kitchen.” |
Cuisine also means…well, “Cuisine.” #CaptainObvious
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Un salon; des salons “Living room” | On va prendre l’apéro dans le salon. “We’ll take the aperitif in the living room.” |
Une chambre; des chambres “Bedroom” | Ma chambre a un plafond intéressant. “My bedroom has an interesting ceiling.” |
Des toilettes (invariable) “Toilets” | Où sont les toilettes ? “Where are the toilets?” |
We also use WC, for “water closet.” |
Une salle de bain; des salles de bain “Bathroom” | Il y a une autre salle de bain à l’étage. “There is another bathroom upstairs.” |
- → Learn everything about rooms and furniture with our free vocabulary lists on Home Interior and Home Items.